


A Rock 'N Roll Kinda Love

by Sweet82405



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: 50sau, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F, Greaser, Jocks, No problem with gay people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-01-19 10:12:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12408417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweet82405/pseuds/Sweet82405
Summary: 1950's Purgatory- The only thing that Nicole cares about is fast cars and rock 'n roll as she goes into her junior year of high school with her best friend Doc. But that all changes when Waverly Earp moves to town..... A very AU story set in the 1950's. No supernatural stuff, no bashing, Purgatory is more like Pleasantville. Greaser Nicole/Sweetheart Waverly.





	1. Chapter 1

Purgatory- Summer of 1957

The sound of an alarm ringing obnoxiously woke Nicole Haught from a dead sleep. With a grumble, she reached across her pillow and searched blindly for the object to shut it up. Feeling the cold metal of her alarm clock, after what felt like an eternity of searching, she turned it off and sighed in relief at the beautiful silence it brought and snuggled down deeper into her bed.

“NICOLE! YOUR BREAKFAST IS GETTING COLD!”

The silence broke with the sound of her mother yelling up the stairs. Pulling the blanket over her head, Nicole tried to doze off for just a few minutes more but the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs meant that wasn’t going to happen.

“Let’s go missy! You don’t want to be late for your first day of school. I expect you dressed and downstairs in ten minutes or I’m coming up with a glass of cold water.” With that, Nicole’s mother closed the door and went back downstairs.

Nicole fumbled with the blanket until she was sitting up on the edge of her mattress rubbing the last of sleep from her blurry brown eyes. The summer flew by too fast for Nicole’s liking and now it was back to early morning wake up calls and boring classes. Looking at the clock, she gave her warm bed one more longing glance before getting up and ready for the first day of her junior year.

×××××××

Nicole’s black and white Converses squeaked on the kitchen tile as she walked in, reaching for the glass of orange juice and a piece of toast off the table. She chugged down her drink and held the toast between her teeth as she slipped her black leather jacket over her shoulders. Her blue button down tucked into her blue jeans completed her outfit, which her mother gave a disapproving look. Nicole was never a skirts and dresses kind of girl. It also didn’t help that she ran around with the not so sweet kids in the neighborhood. Her parents were fine with her liking girls, but the fact she preferred leather jackets and fast cars to cardigans and sock hops irritated them sometimes.

Grabbing her car keys and checking her reflection in the hall mirror, Nicole yelled a bye over her shoulder to her parents and ran out of the house to her black beauty. The 1951 Studebaker two-door sedan had been a junker until she rescued it and gave it all the love it deserved. She and Doc had spent the entire summer at his old man’s service station helping out with tune ups and oil changes in exchange for second-hand parts for the little lady. By the end of August, they had given the car a sleek black coat and bright orange/red flames on the side and she was ready to shine. Climbing into the drivers seat, Nicole gave the steering wheel a gentle caress before starting her up, cranking the radios volume dial up on Chuck Berry’s latest hit record “School Days” and pulling out of the driveway to pick up Doc. 

××××××××

Purgatory High gleamed white in the morning sun as Nicole pulled into the parking lot, looking for an open spot. She couldn’t help giving off a smug grin as people turned to stare at her car as she drove by. That grin widened when she spotted Purgatory High’s leading quarterback Champ Hardy stepping out of his boring car, letter-man jacket and hair perfectly combed back, grinning at the attention the other football goons gave him. Pushing down harder on the gas petal, Nicole flew passed the group in a cloud of dust and rocks. She and Doc laughed at the outraged looks they received as they finally found a spot.

Stepping out of the car, Nicole ran her hand lovingly over the roof and smiled at the way Champ was fussing over his now wind-swept hair. Pushing her seat forward, Nicole reached into the backseat for the few notebooks she threw back there yesterday and turned to hand one to Doc. 

John Henry Holliday, or Doc as he preferred to be called, had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. He was always by her side growing up, beating up the kids who tried to pick on Nicole. She was like a sister to him and they watched each other’s backs. 

Nicole smirked as she watched him comb his greased hair back into a perfect duck’s tail, his lit cigarette dangling from his mouth as he gave his hair a nod in approval and wiped his comb on his jean clad thigh before sticking it back in his pocket. Reaching for the book, Doc grumbled a thanks and leaned back against the trunk. Nicole looked around the lot, spotting the same old people running and giggling in their little groups like they didn’t just see them this past weekend. Rolling her eyes at their behavior, Nicole didn’t see Rosita walking up to her and Doc until a hand hit her shoulder. 

“Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t react the same way if you hadn’t seen me or Doc in a few days.” Rosita teased as she snagged the cigarette from Doc’s lips and took a drag herself. 

“I’m pretty sure I could contain myself.” Nicole remarked, reaching for the offered cigarette from Rosita and taking a long pull off of it before handing it back to Doc. Running a quick hand through her short red hair, Nicole pushed off the back of her car and checked her reflection in the window. Flipping up the collar of her shirt and jacket, making sure the white undershirt showed between the top buttons she left undone. 

“Hi Nicole!” A loud, obnoxious voice pulled Nicole away from the window. 

“Hey Chrissy.” Nicole replied back in a bored tone. Chrissy Nedley was one of the most popular girls in school. She was the captain of almost every after school club, including pep squad and her voice was like nails on a chalkboard sometimes when she got overly excited about something. 

“I hope I have your vote for Junior Class Student Body President!” Chrissy thrusted a flyer at the three of them, bouncing on her toes as if she had drank a whole case of Coca-Cola this morning. “The voting polls will be held in the gymnasium next week! You guys will be there, right?”

“Sure thing, Chrissy. Wouldn’t miss it.” Nicole said folding up the flyer and tucking it in her back pocket. 

“Yay! Thank you!” Chrissy turned her head to the car that just parked a few spots down and started bouncing even faster. “Gotta go! See you guys in class!” Chrissy nearly screamed out before running over to the now parked car.

“That girl could make the Pope swear.” Doc remarked, rubbing his ear after having Chrissy’s shriek nearly blowing out his eardrum. Nicole smirked and looked up at Chrissy and saw the doors of the car open. Two girls, who looked similar in age stepped out and gave the school a curious look. Nicole figured they must be new since she couldn’t recall ever seeing them before. The first girl had long brown hair with a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Her clothes were modest and tailored to look almost professional. The second girl, who stepped out of the passenger seat was the complete opposite. Her dark brown hair was curled at the ends, her tight button up shirt was missing a few buttons at the top and was tucked into an even tighter skirt that may have her in the principle’s office for being too short by end of day. She was leaning against the open car door and holding the seat forward so a third person could get out from behind her. When the person step out, Nicole’s breath stopped in her chest.

This person, a girl, was slightly shorter than the other two. Her medium length brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her short-sleeved white button up shirt was buttoned to the appropriate height, her black skirt just reaching below her knees and her black and white Mary Jane’s completed the ensemble. Her face was perfectly heart-shaped and she had the most gorgeous shade of hazel eyes that Nicole could see even from a distance. Her view was blocked when Chrissy nearly bulldozed the poor girl and started talking her ear off. 

“And who is that gorgeous thing on two legs?” Doc broke Nicole’s concentration. She was ready to deck him for looking at the girl but she relaxed when she saw his eyes glued to the second girl who was grimacing over the volume of Chrissy’s voice.

“I have no idea. They must be new here. I’ll find out and let you know by lunch.” Rosita said looking at the new girls curiously. Rosita was good at getting information on people. She had a nose for gossip and she used it to her advantage.

Nicole continued to stare at the hazel eyed beauty until the sound of the warning bell went off. Everyone grabbed their books and started making their way into the building. Nicole watched Chrissy loop her arm through the new girl’s and led her inside out of sight, the other two new girls following behind. Doc flicked his stub of a cigarette onto the ground and used the heel of his boot to put out the last dying embers before standing and grabbing his book. 

“Well, shall we?” He gestured forward and the three of them followed the trail of bodies into the school. 

Nicole would’ve smirked as the crowd widened out around them, but she was too busy thinking about the girl who, for the first time ever, took her breath away.

×××××××

By lunch time, Nicole was over-whelmed with her own questions. She didn’t see the new girl in any of her classes, but she did see the second girl, who she found out was named Wynonna Earp, in a couple. She almost sat next to her in their last class together just to see if she could ask her a few questions but quickly dismissed that idea. When the last bell rang, Nicole threw her books into her already messy locker and went to meet Doc and Rosita at their usual lunch spot.

Since freshman year, the three of them had always met on the bleachers of the football field for lunch. Here, they would laugh and make fun of the jocks that tried to impress the girls that hung around and instead made absolute fools of themselves. One time, Champ had tried to show off during football practice by flexing his arm muscles while holding the ball. But wasn’t paying attention to the game and ended up being sacked so hard he missed a couple games due to the concussion. Nicole had never laughed so hard.

Climbing to the top of the bleachers, Nicole found her two friends looking through a car magazine and arguing over the best models. Shaking her head at them, she climbed up behind them and sat on the last bleacher so she could lean back against the fence.  
“Nicole, please explain to her that a Hudson Hornet is in no way better than our black beauty.” Doc asked Nicole, glaring at Rosita as she smirked back.

“There’s zero competition between the two. Ours is better, period.” Nicole said, leaning forward and grabbing the open bottle of Coca-Cola between the two and taking a swig.

“Ha! Told you!” Doc cheered in Rosita’s face. They both continued to argue over the topic as Nicole tuned them out to look down at the field. Champ and his boys were on the field in their practice gear running laps as the coaches barked orders from the sidelines. The team wasn’t bad, coming in second the last 2 years running. Whenever Champ confronted Nicole for whatever reason, she made sure to rub that in his face and he would always stalk away with his tail between his legs. Watching them run now, Nicole caught a group of girls run up onto the bleachers so they could have a better view of the team and shook her head at their high-pitched squeals. She never understood the fascination with jocks. Most of them could only spell their names because it was on their letterman jackets. Rolling her eyes at the group, Nicole went to reach for the magazine in Doc’s hand when the new girl came into view.

She was trailing slightly behind Chrissy as the older girl ran up to the giggling group from before. They all gave off another shriek that Nicole was sure only dogs could hear. Chrissy gestured for the new girl to join her and she started introducing her to the others, but Nicole was too far away to make out the name.

“Hey,” Nicole tapped Rosita on the shoulder, her eyes staying locked on the group. “You get anything about the new girls yet?” 

Rosita turned more to face Nicole, adjusting her tight red skirt so she could sit more comfortably. 

“I did actually. The Earp Family. Apparently they all just moved here from Calgary. Father got some job and they had to move. They have three daughters- the oldest is Willa. She’s a senior this year and not a big talker at them moment. Then there’s Wynonna, who’s the second oldest and a junior like us. Heard she had quite the reputation at her last school. Wasn’t afraid to get into fights. Sounds right up your alley, Doc.” Nicole smirked at the look of awe on his face at the revelation. “And then down there,” Rosita pointed down to the still giggling group, “Is the youngest, Waverly. She’s supposed to be a sophomore this year, but she’s apparently some academic genius and they let her skip a grade so she’s a junior too. Just a year younger than us.”

Waverly

Nicole ran the name over and over again in her head. It was different than every other girls and it stood out beautifully.

Waverly Earp

Glancing down at the no-longer-nameless girl, Nicole thought she may have looked a little uncomfortable surrounded by all those loud, over-excited girls. It’s a lot to take in especially when you’re in a new place surrounded by unfamiliar people. Nicole sees her open up a little to the group as they ask her a bunch of questions. She feels her heart miss a beat when something another girl says brings a smile to Waverly’s face.

Waverly

“What’s that grin for?” Nicole gets shaken out of her staring at Rosita’s question. She didn’t even realize she was smiling because Waverly was smiling.

“Nothing. Just watching Champ make an ass out of himself again.” Nicole covered up, glancing at the field and seeing the team running plays. She also can’t help but notice where Champ’s eyes are looking.

Waverly

And Nicole is not happy about it.

“Seems Hardy has spotted the new girl. Poor thing is trapped now.” Doc comments, draining the last of the coke from the bottle and flinging it over his shoulder, snickering as everyone jumps at the sound of the shattering glass. All eyes fly up to them and Nicole freezes as a certain pair of hazel eyes lock with hers. 

It’s like the whole world drops away and just the two of them remain. Nicole takes in Waverly’s cute little nose, her pouty red lips, and her slender neck and imagines running her own lips over these very features. The moment is unfortunately broken by the worst person. Waverly’s attention is pulled away from Nicole by none other than Champ Hardy. He’s leaning on the railing of the bleachers and grinning up at Waverly and the other girls who are swooning over him. Nicole sees his mouth moving but can’t make out the words, and she also doesn’t like the fact those words are being directed to Waverly. She sees Waverly shrug her shoulders and Champ grinning like a fool before running back towards the field, glancing over his shoulder and throwing one more grin before getting back in the game. 

The girls all surround Waverly and start the annoying squealing again and it’s enough to make Nicole sick. Looking down at her watch, she sees the bell is gonna ring in a minute so she gestures for the others to follow and they all climb down the bleachers. When she reaches the bottom, Nicole can’t help but glance over at the girls, her eyes finding Waverly, and giving her one more look.  
What she wasn’t expecting was to get one in return.

Nicole nearly trips down the stairs at the look Waverly gives her. It’s curious and shy and adorable. Especially when she looks down at her lap and smirks just the tiniest bit before looking back up. Nicole would’ve stayed frozen on that step if it weren’t for Doc and Rosita behind her nudging her along. The warning bell goes off and jolts everyone into action, collecting books and making promises to meet after school. Nicole looks over her shoulder one last time and sees Waverly walking in the opposite direction with the others. Almost as if she can feel her eyes on her, Waverly glances back and blushes before hurrying to catch up with the others. 

xxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the week seemed to drag before it was finally Friday. Nicole had spotted Waverly numerous times during the week and much to her disappointment, Champ always seemed to be around her too. It annoyed the hell out of her and she couldn’t help but enjoy the mornings now as she purposely drove passed Champ and sprayed him with dirt and gravel as she slammed on the gas. 

When the last bell of the day rang, everyone raced out of the building to the parking lot to start their weekend. Nicole saw Doc and Rosita waiting for her next to her car as she crossed the parking lot. The sound of laughter drew Nicole’s attention to the group of jocks, led by Champ, who were tormenting a kid in a bowtie and glasses. The snatched his books from his hands and threw them to the ground, scattering his papers everywhere. Satisfied with their work, the idiots walked away patting each other’s shoulders and climbed into Champ’s car. Nicole usually would walk away but seeing as how it was Champ who tormented the kid, she decided to take pity on him. Kneeling down, Nicole picked up the shoeprint-laden papers and gathered them into a pile before handing them over to the nervous kid.

“Th-thanks.” Jeremy, Nicole thinks, stutters as he takes them gently as he pushes his glasses up high on his nose and scurries off to catch his bus. 

Nicole stands back up and wipes her hands on her jeans as she makes her way to her car.

“One of these days, Hardy is gonna get his. Mark my words.” Doc remarks climbing into the passenger seat after allowing Rosita in first.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and some other football team will drive him into the turf.” Nicole replies, adjusting the rearview mirror and pulling out of the space.

She drops the other two off at their houses, telling them she’ll be back to pick them up in a few hours for their usual Friday night plans before going home to get ready herself.

xxxxxxxxx

A typically Friday night in Purgatory meant hanging out at Shorty’s. It was the only cool place in town as it was a bowling alley and an arcade. It also had some of the best food for miles. 

Nicole, Doc, and Rosita walked in and looked at the usual crowd filling in the place. Most of the older men from town held their annual bowling night every Friday, taking up a good chunk of the lanes. The food area and arcade were the busiest areas as all of Purgatory High crammed in to get the best booths and pinball machines. The three of them headed for the back booth, taking off their jackets and not even touching the menus as they always got the same thing to eat every time they came here.

The waitress came by in her pink dress and white apron and when she saw it was them she just asked if they wanted the regular. With three nods, the waitress went back behind the counter to put in their orders as other waitresses scurried around delivering food to other tables. Nicole glanced around the place taking in the crowd. The annoying giggling girls managed to secure three tables in the middle of the room and everyone of them was talking a mile a minute. Nicole couldn’t help but look for Waverly in the group and was disappointed when she didn’t see her. She also couldn’t help but glare at the jock tables taking up all the booths lining up along the windows. Tonight seemed much busier then the past couple weeks. It was probably due to school being back in session and everyone needing a night out. Even the carhops were busy skating from car to car balancing trays overhead. 

Nicole heard someone call her name and she looked up as a group of friends came up to their table. They all went to Purgatory High but they were all in different grades so they rarely got to see each other there. Friday nights were for catching up and making fun of the jockstraps on the other side of the room. The group moved some tables together, getting angry looks from couples sitting at four person tables and only using two of the chairs, and slung their leather jackets over the back of their chairs, daring anyone to try and take the chair. Nicole fell into conversation with her friend Perry, who was a year older than her, about the recent work done on her car. The rest of the table ordered their food and soon everyone was filling up on burgers and fries with bottles of cold coke.

Nicole was in the process of swallowing down her burger when it threatened to come back up. Champ walked through the door, the jocks greeting him like a king, and it was enough to make Nicole lose her appetite. That guy just really got under her skin sometimes. Looking away, Nicole dove back into conversation with her friends until another entrance had her pausing mid-sentence. 

Wynonna and Waverly Earp walked in and were looking around at all Shorty’s had to offer. 

Nicole felt her heatbeat pick up its pace at the sight of the younger Earp, those curious eyes taking in the neon lighting, the groups of teenagers scattered around the tables and the overrun waitresses racing back and forth filling orders. Wynonna pointed at a couple seats at the counter and Waverly nodded before following behind. They both barely sat down before Stephanie Jones, Chrissy’s just as annoying friend, tugged Waverly over to their table and they all started bombarding her with questions again.

“If you will all excuse me,” Doc said standing up. “I believe it’s high time I introduced myself to our newest resident.” Nicole grinned as she watched Doc walk by one of the jock’s tables, the boys distracted with looking out the window at some of the girls out there, and dipped his comb into one of the full glasses of coke before running it through his hair to help keep it slicked back. It was even better as one of the clueless boys reached out and took a drink from that very glass. Doc leaned up against the counter and got Wynonna’s attention and before long they were in their own conversation.

Nicole glanced back at the table Waverly was at and frowned when she saw Champ hovering over her like a hawk. From the little that she could hear over the crowd, it sounded like he was telling her one of his glory football stories of how he single-handedly won some important game. Everyone around the table was enthralled with him, except for one, and Nicole grinned at the bored expression on Waverly’s face. Champ was so into his own story, he didn’t notice Waverly quietly excusing herself from the table and making her way over to the jukebox. 

Without even thinking about it, Nicole made her way over there.

Coming up slowly so as not to startle her, Nicole could see Waverly running her finger down the glass case as she read the titles of the records currently in there. Seeing one she probably liked, Waverly pulled a nickel out of her sweater pocket and pushed it into the machine then typed in the number. When nothing happened, Waverly tried pushing the number again and got the same result.

“It sticks sometimes.”

Waverly jumped slightly before turning to face Nicole.

“Here, let me.” Nicole offered, stepping in front of Waverly and turning to face her so the jukebox was behind her. Seeing the confused look on Waverly’s face, Nicole grinned and gave the machine a good, solid kick and it finally switched to the new selected song. Expecting some sappy love song, Nicole was pleasantly surprised when Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame” came on. 

“Not what you were expecting?” Waverly asked, smirking slightly up at the redhead.

“Not at all.” Nicole smirked back. “I’m Nicole.”

“Waverly.” The brunette replied bashfully.

“I know. Your name’s come up a few times in certain circles around school.” Nicole hitched her thumbs in the belt loops on her jeans and shrugged her shoulders at Waverly’s look. “It’s not everyday a new family moves to Purgatory. Everyone wants to know your life.”

“So I’ve noticed. But unfortunately there’s not much of a story.” Waverly shrugs.

“Well there has to be some form of a story because it looks like your sister is telling my friend.” Nicole points out, drawing Waverly’s attention to the two at the counter. They’re both smiling and cradling bottles of coke as they talk about something.

“My sister’s been noticing your friend lately.”

“Oh yeah? Well, Doc will certainly love to know that.” Nicole chuckled. Glancing over Waverly’s shoulder, she sees Champ glaring at her in return as he stands with his arms crossed over his chest like a little boy who just got his toy truck taken from him. “I think you’re being missed back at the table.”

Waverly glances back across the room at said table and sees a lot of eyes on her and Nicole and it makes her uncomfortable. Nicole notices her hesitation and decides to take the plunge.

“Can I buy you a coke or something?”

Waverly turns back to Nicole and gives her a radiant smile.

“Sure.”

Nicole leads them over to a couple empty spots at the counter and asks for two cokes. The kid working behind the counter reaches into the cooler and pulls out two frost covered bottles.

“Could I possibly get mine in a glass with a few cherries, please?” Waverly asks shyly.

The kid nods and a minute later hands over their drinks, one bottle and one glass filled to the brim with coke and a couple cherries with a red straw sticking out the top.

Nicole grins as Waverly takes a sip of her drink and smiles into the straw at the taste. 

“So rumor is you’re from Calgary.” Nicole says, hoping to start up a conversation.

“I am. Born and raised. But my dad got a promotion at work and we had to move here. I didn’t mind the move, not many friends back home. But my sister’s weren’t happy with it. Willa, my oldest sister, was at the top of her class back home, hundreds of friends, the perfect daughter. Since moving here she’s been nothing but awful at home. Snapping at us, me in particular. So after a week of it, Wynonna and I decided to see what there is to do on a Friday night in Purgatory. And we ended up here.” Waverly played with the cuff of her sweater as she spoke, her eyes never straying from her hands.

“Well, I’m glad you did.” Nicole whispered, her own hands playing with the label on the coke bottle.

Waverly looked up and gave her a sweet smile that had them both blushing and looking away. Focusing on her drink, Nicole just about drained the bottled and looked to see if Waverly wanted another one as well. Instead, she found the girl trying to capture one of the cherries at the bottom with her straw and not succeeding. Seeing her struggle, Nicole made sure the waiter was occupied at the other end of the counter before standing up and reaching over the counter for a fork. Handing it to Waverly, Nicole couldn’t help but break out in goosebumps when their fingers brushed together.

“Thank you. That’s really sweet.” Waverly replied before successfully retrieving a cherry.

Nicole was not one to blush, but with this girl that didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Their time is interrupted a moment later by Waverly’s sister coming around the counter.

“Hey Waves, we should probably head back. Don’t need dad lecturing us again.”

Nicole felt her shoulders slump at knowing Waverly had to leave, but she perked up a bit when she saw Waverly wasn’t happy to be leaving either.

“Okay….” 

Wynonna gave Nicole a brief smile before heading for the door, telling Waverly she’d meet her at the car.

Waverly turned and gave Nicole a sad smile.

“Sorry I have to go. It was really nice talking to you.”

“We’ll have to do it again soon.” Nicole hoped it didn’t come on too strong.

“I’d really like that.” 

Waverly stood up and reached for her change purse to pay for the drink, but Nicole’s hand on hers stopped her.

“On me, remember?” Nicole reached into her front pocket and threw down some change to cover the drinks without even looking. It was worth it, because she got to see that cheek bunching smile from Waverly directed at her.

“Goodnight Nicole.”

Nicole tucked her hands into her front pockets and smiled bashfully.

“Goodnight Waverly.”

She watched as the girl walked out of the building, her eyes following her all the way to her car and as they pulled away. 

Walking slowly back to the table from earlier, Nicole grabbed her jacket and told everyone she was heading home. Doc and Rosita said they’d catch a ride home later and she left the table still in her current Waverly-induced daze. Before leaving though, she made a pit stop at the jukebox and fed it a nickel before choosing a song. 

Smiling as the song came on, Nicole left humming the chorus of “Ain’t That A Shame” as she walked out to her car with Waverly’s smile on her mind.

XXXXXXXXXX

A couple of weeks into the school year had students breaking out cardigans and jackets as the shorter days brought cooler weather to the area. As the ground built up different colored leaves, the town was getting ready to decorate for the annual Homecoming game this coming Friday. Shop fronts held posters wishing the Purgatory High Blue Devils good luck on their upcoming game, blue and white streamers wrapped around lamp posts ready for the parade.

Friday morning, Nicole pulled into the school parking lot and was disappointed to find none of the football players around. The night before had brought some rain and she had wanted to spray Champ with mud from the giant puddles surrounding the lot. They were all probably over at the field getting ready for tonight’s game. Getting out of the car, Nicole adjusted her leather jacket, making sure both collars were flipped up and looking cool, grabbed her books and tossed them on the trunk where she waited for her friends. Doc had declined a ride saying he’d need his own car after school but wouldn’t say for what. Catching sight of a familiar light yellow car, Nicole smirked when it parked further down the row and Waverly stepped out of the passenger side.

Nicole hadn’t had a chance to really talk to her since that night at Shorty’s. Waverly being a brainiac, had been swamped in her school work. Nicole had found out she was in all of the college course classes and that’s why they didn’t share any. They had managed to pass each other in the hallways from time to time, giving each other a passing glance but not having any time for more. Nicole would kill to just have five minutes alone with the girl.

Nicole was surprised to see only Willa and Waverly exiting the car, Wynonna no where to be seen. She watched as an annoyed Willa said something to Waverly then stormed off towards the building, leaving her younger sister behind. Waverly glanced over in Nicole’s direction and gave a shy smile at her in hello. Perking up, Nicole gave a similar one in return and was just about to push away from her car and walk over to the brunette when the giggle squad showed up and circled Waverly. Bummed, Nicole slumped back against her car and buried her hands in her blue jeans and watched the group practically skip up to the building.

Not a minute later, a rusty old truck with the logo “Holliday Car Service” flew into the spot next to Nicole’s car and Doc jumped out of the driver seat, walking over to the passenger side to open the door for none other than Wynonna Earp. Stepping out, Wynonna grabbed her things and gave Doc a pat on his chest.

“Thanks for the ride, handsome.”

Wynonna gave him a sly wink before making her way towards the building as the warning bell started going off.

Nicole smirked as Doc’s eyes followed Wynonna’s every step, not even acknowledging his friend right next to him. Shaking her head, Nicole picked up her books and slung an arm around Doc’s shoulders breaking him from his trance.

“Come on lover boy. Let’s get you to class before you start drooling all over yourself.” Nicole teased as she pulled him in the direction his eyes were still following.

XXXXXXXX

The Pep Rally before the game was always a big thing for the Homecoming game. There was a huge bonfire, a million speeches, and the marching band playing out of tune as they marched up and down the football field. Nicole, Doc, and Rosita were standing with their group of friends along the chain-link fence making fun of every football player that was being called up on the stage. Unfortunately the sound of the crowd on the bleachers drowned out their insults but they didn’t care. Tradition had it that after the game, win or lose, everyone would head over to the gymnasium for a dance. Nicole never saw the fun in dances so she avoided them. Instead, she and her friends would cruise up and down Main Street until landing at Shorty’s. 

Nicole looked around at the crowd, hoping not to see her parents there, when her eyes landed on the pep squad jumping around and doing cheers. Chrissy and Stephanie were at the head of the squad, their grins stretched so far it was almost terrifying. Looking back up at the crowd, it was like Nicole had a second sense when it came to finding her in a sea of people. Waverly was sitting in the front row of the bleachers, her sister’s on either side of her, as they watched the spectacle on the field. Wynonna looked bored out of her mind and kept looking Nicole’s way, probably hoping to spot Doc. Willa look envious as she watched the pep squad whip the crowd into a frenzy. And Waverly………she just looked uncomfortable. Nicole watched as she pulled her sweater tighter around herself and gave a brief smile down at the girls cheering as Chrissy made a big show of waving to her. After the last speech was given, the jocks all ran for the sidelines to get ready for the game as the small stage was quickly dissembled. The crowd seemed to disperse some as people made their way to the bathrooms and snack stands before the game. 

Stepping away from her friends, Nicole told them she’d be back and she wandered over towards the snack stand to get herself a coke. Standing in line, Nicole stuffed her hands in her pockets to keep them warm as a cool breeze blew by, tempting everyone to get a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. She turned around to glance behind her and to her surprise found Waverly standing in line by herself a couple people down. Informing the people behind her to go around her, Nicole waited until Waverly was behind her to make herself known.

“Hey.”

Looking up, Waverly smiled at seeing who was talking to her and it made Nicole’s own smile break out.

“Hi. I thought that was you.” Waverly admitted, blushing some.

“Enjoying your first Purgatory Homecoming game?” Nicole asked moving up in line, Waverly standing next to her.

“I guess. I’m not really a football fan or anything. But the other girls said I had to come because it was the best.” Waverly replied with a slight eye roll that made Nicole chuckle.

“I can name a million other things that are better then a homecoming football game.” Nicole said shaking her head.

“So why’d you come to this one tonight, then?”

The first thing to pop into Nicole’s head was ‘Because I was hoping you’d be here’ but she didn’t want to come off weird.

“Well, it is tradition for my friends and I to make fun of the jockstraps. Can’t let them run out on that field with big heads, right?” Nicole joked.

“No, we certainly wouldn’t want to see that.” Waverly giggled back, making Nicole swoon.

They were almost up to the counter and the warmth from inside the small kitchen billowed out and made Waverly shiver. Nicole saw the girl was hugging herself to keep warm as her sweater was not doing a very good job.

“Are you hungry?”

Waverly looked up, her forehead crinkled in confusion.

“Because if you are, I was going to ask if you’d want to head over to Shorty’s with me? It’s probably dead there since the whole town is here tonight, and it’s warm and has a much better selection of food.” Nicole rushed out in one long breath, her nerves getting the best of her as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Waverly looked at her for a minute then glanced down at her shoes shyly.

“I’m supposed to meet up with Chrissy and Stephanie after the game. Something about a dance and cruising on the town.”

Nicole felt her whole body deflate in disappointment. Shoving her hands back into her pockets, she glanced down and kicked at a rock stuck in the ground.

“Oh. Okay that’s cool.” Nicole tried not to sound too put off.

“If you wait for me by the fence, I can tell my sister to give Chrissy a message that something came up and I had to leave?” Waverly asked, trying to catch the redhead’s attention.

Nicole felt her heart pound in excitement as she grinned back. 

“I’ll wait right here.”

Giving her a brief nod, Waverly jogged through the crowd back to the bleachers as Nicole let out a nervous breath and stepped out of line as people started grumbling about not moving forward. Wiping her clammy hands down her jeans, Nicole looked over the heads of the people in front of her to see if Waverly was coming. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the brunette making her way back towards her, bouncing on her toes so she wouldn’t lose sight of Nicole.

“My sister said no problem. I just have to be home by nine.” Waverly informed her, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to bring them some warmth. 

Nicole quickly shed her beloved jacket and draped it over the smaller girl’s shoulders, flipping the collar up to help keep the wind off her exposed neck. Waverly gave her a look of gratitude as the warmth from Nicole’s skin radiated off the lining of the jacket and warmed her up immensely.

“Shall we?” Nicole gestured towards the parking lot and they both tried to make their way through the crowd.

Nicole led the two of them through the ever growing thicker crowd as more and more people made their way in from the lot. She was about to turn and make sure Waverly was still behind her, when she felt a glide smoothly into her own and grip tightly. Turning back sharply, Nicole gave Waverly a curious glance.

“I don’t want to lose you in this.” Waverly commented with a shy shrug.

Grinning widely, Nicole interlocked their fingers and surged forward, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world as Waverly clung to her warm hand. 

When they finally made it to the lot, Waverly jogged a few steps to catch up to Nicole, her free hand keeping the jacket secure on her shoulders as she’s led to the far end of the lot to Nicole’s car. Nicole walks them around to the passenger side and opens the door for Waverly, being the perfect gentlewoman. Getting a cheek bunching smile in return, Nicole waits until Waverly is comfortable before closing the door and walking around the back to get to her side. She glances through the back windshield and watches Waverly reach over to the driver side door to pull the lock up for her.

Waverly Earp is in my car…..

Nicole slides in quickly so she can get the car and heat running. Throwing her arm over the back of the seat, Nicole backs out of the spot and pulls on to the main drag. 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Even though they had their choice of basically any table they wanted because the place was a ghost town, Nicole and Waverly sat in Nicole’s normal booth back in the corner underneath the neon “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” sign. The waitress knew Nicole’s order and didn’t even bother to ask her. Waverly ordered a cheeseburger with extra pickles and a cherry coke with extra cherries that made Nicole smirk. The place was so quiet except for the jukebox that was playing Del-Vikings “Come Go With Me” and the sound of the one or two bowlers out at the lanes. This is what she had wanted from day one after first laying eyes on the petite brunette. Just some peace and quiet and a place to talk uninterrupted.

“Tell me something about yourself.” Waverly broke the silence, leaning her elbows on the table as she used her straw to swirl the ice in her glass.

“Like what?” Nicole asked, leaning forward herself.

“I don’t know. Anything. Do you have any siblings?”

“No. I’m an only child.”

“Must’ve been lonely as a child.” Waverly said giving her sad eyes.

“Not really. Doc and I grew up together. He’s like the brother I never had.” Nicole explained, taking a swig from her bottle.

“Wynonna’s taken quite the liking to him. Much to Willa’s disappointment.” Waverly smirked slightly at that. “She threw a hissy fit when he came by to pick her up for school. Wynonna just ignores her most of the time. I wish I could.”

“What’s Willa’s problem? She leave some beau back home or something?” Nicole didn’t like the idea of Waverly’s sister being mean to her. This girl was an absolute angel and deserved to be treated as such.

“No, but she did leave all her friends behind. She’s just been taking her anger out on Wynonna and I. Our parents just tell us it’s a faze she’s going through.”

“Still, she shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

“Honestly, I think she’s just jealous by the attention I’ve been getting since we moved here. The popular girls wanting to be friends, the captain of the football team asking me to the Homecoming dance-”

“Champ asked you to the dance tonight?” Nicole interrupted, her heart freezing in her chest.

“Yes. He’s been asking me all week but I kept telling him I had to think about it.” Waverly rolled her eyes, remembering all the times she found Champ waiting for her after class with the same question on his lips.

“So………what was your final answer then?” Nicole asked, afraid to know the answer.

Waverly just smiled.

“My final answer was to sneak away to have a cheeseburger and coke with you, silly.”

The block of ice that had formed in Nicole’s chest melted away instantly at her words.

Waverly chose me over Champ

“Well, I’m honored.” They both shared a smile before the waitress came back over with two hearty baskets of cheeseburgers and fries.

“I haven’t eaten here before, but it looks really good.” Waverly commented reaching for the squeeze bottle of ketchup on the table.

“You’re not a true Purgatorian until you’ve eaten at Shorty’s.” Nicole replied, shoving a french fry into her mouth and watching Waverly for her reaction.

Taking a bite of the burger, Waverly chewed and nodded until she swallowed the mouthful. 

“That’s really good!” She exclaimed, taking another bite.

“Told you! Wait till you try the shakes. No place can so them better.” Nicole rolled up the sleeves of her dark gray button up until the cuffs rested below her elbows and she dug in to her own basket.

When the waitress came by to clear the table, she asked if they’d like any desserts. Nicole looked at Waverly for an answer, who gave a sly shrug, then turned back to the waitress.

“Can we get a chocolate milkshake with two straws, please?”

The waitress went back to start on their shake as Nicole dug through her pocket for some change.

“Would you like to choose the next song?” Nicole asked, holding a nickel out to Waverly.

Smiling at her offer, Waverly reached out and traced her fingertips gently over Nicole’s own fingers, taking her time as she skimmed curiously over the silver band on Nicole’s index finger before accepting the nickel. Nicole grinned so hard as goosebumps broke out all over her body at the simple caress.

“Those dimples…..” Waverly whispered before getting up and heading over to the jukebox.

Nicole turned to look at her reflection in the window and found those very dimples sticking out on either cheek. It’s been so long since something has made her smile like this and she couldn’t control it. Waverly just brought it out of her.

Hearing the deep voice of Elvis’ “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” filter throughout the room had Nicole turning back just in time to catch Waverly walking back towards her. It was almost like time stood still as she watched every step the girl took, mesmerized by every tiny detail that made up Waverly Earp.

Sitting back across from her, the waitress came back with a beautifully crafted chocolate milkshake, topped with a triangle tower of whipped cream and two cherries. Sticking the straws down in either side, the waitress told them to enjoy and went back to wiping tables.

“This looks amazing.” Waverly said, plucking a cherry from the top and wrapping her tongue around it to get the whipped cream off.

Nicole’s breathing picked up tremendously.

Pulling the stem off, Waverly blushed as she chewed the sweet fruit and played with one of the spoons the waitress had given her. Nicole loved seeing the way Waverly’s eyes lit up over the cherry. So she grabbed the base of the glass and spun it so the cherry that was on her side was now facing Waverly.

The look of adoration that Waverly gave her over the simple gesture would forever be ingrained in Nicole’s memory.

Leaning forward together, they both giggled as they each took a straw and took a mouthful of the chocolaty goodness. They unintentionally started a staring contest as they consumed the frozen drink, never looking away and trying not to blink but Nicole was the first to break away. The brain-freeze making her pinch her eyes shut and laugh as Waverly gave a small cheer in victory. Nicole went to lean back but froze in place as the feeling of those soft fingertips from before smoothed along the bridge of her nose, right between her eyes where the brain-freeze still lingered. Opening her eyes, she found Waverly roaming her own eyes all over Nicole’s face, taking in every little detail. When their eyes met, Waverly gave her one last caress before pulling back.

“Better?” She asked in concern.

“Much.” Nicole replied, staying in the exact same position.

Glancing at the clock over Nicole’s shoulder, Waverly slumped a little in her seat as she noted the time.

“I should be getting home. It’s almost my curfew.” Nicole slumped down too at the news before they both leaned in to finish off their dessert.

Waverly insisted on paying for herself but Nicole shook her head and threw some bills on the table to cover their meals before stepping out of the booth and offering a hand to the brunette. Waverly accepted and made sure to grab Nicole’s jacket, handing it over to the taller girl. She was surprised though when Nicole draped it back over her shoulders, popping the collar like earlier and taking back her hand.

“Its still pretty cold out. Don’t want you to get sick.” Nicole said, giving the girl her dimpled smile again before leading them out of the building.

Nicole was right, the temperature had dropped some more and she felt Waverly shiver when the breeze drifted over them. Waverly snuggled into Nicole’s right side, her free hand coming out from beneath the borrowed jacket to grip at Nicole’s still exposed forearm and rubbing her smooth skin up and down. Nicole was practically walking on Cloud Nine as they made their way to her car. Helping Waverly into the passenger side, Nicole practically ran to the other side so she wouldn’t miss a single moment with Waverly as their time together was now coming to an end.

XXXXXXXXX

Pulling up on Homestead Avenue, Waverly pointed out which house was hers and Nicole stopped along the curb. It was a modest two-story house, white with brown trim, the front yard had a white picket fence around it to protect the perfectly cut green grass. Stepping out of the car, Nicole walked around to open the door for Waverly and again offered her hand. Taking it graciously, Waverly moved around so Nicole could close the door and she watched as the light that was in her eyes all night slowly disappeared with each passing second.

“Thank you for tonight. Way better than some stupid football game and dance.”

“Thank you for coming out with me. Best night I’ve had in a long time.” Nicole admitted truthfully.

Waverly pulled the jacket from her own shoulders and held it open in front of her, gesturing for Nicole to put it on. Smiling, Nicole turned around and slid her arms through the sleeves, pulling the zippered lapels closer around her before turning back around. Waverly ran her eyes down the length of Nicole’s body, settling her eyes on the collar where she reached up and popped the collar on both the gray button up and jacket just the way Nicole liked, before running her hands down Nicole’s shoulders to smooth them out. Standing up on the tips of her shoes, Waverly brushed her lips against the dimple in Nicole’s left cheek, using her hold on the taller girl’s shoulders for leverage.

“Goodnight Nicole.”

Giving her one more cheek-bunching grin, Waverly jogged up the driveway of her house and with a final wave goodbye, she disappeared inside.

Nicole never moved from that spot as she watched Waverly leave. Her mind was too focused on the fact the Waverly’s lips had touched her skin.

She stood there for God knows how long before finally making her way back around inside the car. Glancing up as a light came on upstairs, Nicole wondered if it was Waverly’s room as she started her car up and drove back towards her own house. 

The whole ride home, all Nicole could think about was the song “Singin’ In The Rain” and how she never understood it until this very moment as she remembered the way Waverly’s lips felt under her cheek and how the collar of her jacket smelled like Waverly’s perfume.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing Wynonna Earp related.

Chapter 2

Monday morning after the Homecoming game had Nicole driving to school with the biggest grin on her face. In fact, the grin managed to stay on her face all weekend after the night she had had with one Waverly Earp. She kept running the night over and over in her head and every time just got better and better. 

As she pulled into the school parking lot, she made sure to add a little more spin to her back tires as she flew past that pompous ass Champ, her laugh drowning out his furious yells. Cruising into her normal spot, she was surprised to find Doc and Rosita already there. The truck bed pulled down and the two of them sitting on it as they watched with amusement the way Champ and his friends stomped off towards the school to clean themselves up. Checking her reflection in the rear view mirror, Nicole stepped out of the car and joined her friends, leaning against the open cab of the truck.

“And just where did you disappear Friday night? One minute you were off to get a drink and the next you were gone.” Rosita asked, offering her pack of cigarettes to Nicole.

“I just had a better offer than watching a stupid football game.” Nicole plucked two cigarettes out of the carton, putting one between her lips and the other behind her ear for later.

“Like what?” Doc pushed.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Nicole replied, smiling as she leaned into the lighter Rosita was holding out for her. Lighting the tip and taking a deep drag, Nicole let the smoke trickle out of her nose and mouth as she zippered up her coat. As she was adjusting the collar, her eyes found the familiar beige car of the Earp sister’s pulling into the lot and heading towards their normal spot. 

The three girls all stepped out, Wynonna throwing a smirk in Doc’s direction that had him jumping off the tailgate at attention and grinning like a fool. When Waverly saw who her sister was smiling at, she couldn’t help but smile herself as her eyes connected with Nicole’s. Standing up straight herself, Nicole felt her heartbeat speed up as it looked like Waverly was making her way towards her.

“Waverly.”

Both Nicole and Waverly looked at the eldest sister who yelled her name.

“Let’s go.” 

Leaving no room for argument, Waverly flashed Nicole a brief smile, not quite reaching her eyes, and turned back to follow her sisters.

“That Willa Earp is a real piece of work. Pops up out of nowhere and demandin’ as hell.” Doc said, throwing his spent cigarette on the ground.

Nicole didn’t say anything as she took one final hit off hers and dropped it, using the sole of her shoe to crush out the embers.

The three of them followed after the other students as the bell went off. Stopping at her locker, Nicole grabbed some random books and tossed her unused cigarette in for later. As she made her way to History, all she could think about was how Waverly looked as she walked towards her just minutes ago.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Nicole was the first one to arrive at the bleachers in the gym for lunch. As the weather got colder, they weren’t able to sit outside at their usual spot so they instead watched the pep squad and basketball team practice in the indoor gym. 

Nicole was just settling back against the wall when she heard familiar voices over the edge of the bleachers near the entrance. Taking a peak over the railing, Nicole cringed when she saw Champ practically blocking Waverly from coming in. She was about to get up and move him for her when he started speaking.

“I looked for you at the Homecoming dance. Chrissy said you had something come up and had to leave.” 

“I did.” Waverly offered him no other response.

“Well, maybe to make it up to me, how about after school we head over to Shorty’s with the gang? Maybe we could sneak away for some alone time, to get to know each other a little more.” Champ was laying the charm on thick and it made Nicole’s stomach lurch unpleasantly. She was afraid to hear Waverly’s answer, no one has ever turned down Champ Hardy.

“I’m not allowed to ride home with anyone else, besides my sisters.” Waverly gave him a tight-lipped smile, and moved to walk around him.

“Maybe I can talk to your sisters!” Champ moved in front of her again. Nicole stood up in anger and was ready to pound him into the floorboards when Chrissy caught sight of Waverly and came running over. Her mouth was a blur as she rambled about God knows what and Nicole was never more grateful for her at that moment. Looping her arm around Waverly’s, Chrissy pulled her away from Champ and to the other pep squad members. Nicole looked over the railing and watched Champ huff angrily before stomping out of the gym.

Sitting back down, Nicole found Waverly sitting alone down at the bottom row of the bleachers. She was watching probably some new routine the other girls were trying and looked incredibly bored.

Seeing that Doc and Rosita still hadn’t shown up yet, Nicole took her chance and crept down the bleachers before taking the seat next to the brunette.

“I see Champ’s giving you a hard time about Friday night.”

Waverly jumped slightly and turned before breaking out in a smile.

“He’s quite persistent.”

“Well if he’s giving you trouble, you just let me know. I’ll sort him out with pleasure.” Nicole stretched her fingers, her knuckles aching to collide with Hardy’s pretty boy face.

“Thank you, but I don’t want to see you fighting.” Waverly was watching her hands as they fiddled in her lap.

“Wouldn’t be much of a fight. Hardy can’t take a punch.” Nicole smirked.

“Still….” Waverly turned her eyes up to the redhead, making her lose her breath. “No fighting, please?”

“No promises.” Nicole grinned smugly and Waverly smiled too, shaking her head.

Nicole took a moment to look over Waverly. Her hair in a high ponytail, the thicker white cardigan over her shoulders to fight off the cold, the deep blue of her long skirt. Usually Nicole wasn’t a fan of the types of girls like Waverly.

Then again, they weren’t Waverly.

“They want me to join.”

Waverly’s voice shook Nicole out of her musings.

“Sorry, what?”

“The pep squad. They want me to join.” Waverly repeated, nodding towards the girls on the floor.

“And do you? Wanna join?” 

“I don’t know really. It’s never really been my kind of thing. Willa said I should. Wynonna said I shouldn’t. I don’t know.” 

Nicole twisted around so she was straddling the bench, facing the younger girl.

“In the end, it’s your decision. No one else’s. If you really want to, then do it. If not, then don’t. Don’t let other people make decisions for you. It’s your life.” 

Waverly ran her eyes all over Nicole’s face before settling on her eyes. Nicole felt her knee start bouncing with nerves as she fell into those deep hazel pools.

“Hey ‘Cole!” 

They both jumped at the sound of her name and turned to see Doc and Rosita walking along the top of the bleachers, Doc waving her up to join them.

“I should probably…” Nicole crooked her thumb in their direction, giving them her angry eyes at the interruption.

“Yeah, you don’t want to be here when the girls come back over. The high pitch of their giggles might make your ears bleed.” Waverly joked.

Nicole stood up and wiped her hands against her jeans, her clammy palms warm against the cool fabric. She went to take a step up the bleachers but stopped and turned back, Waverly watching curiously.

“Would you like a ride home after school?” Nicole blurted out.

Waverly raised her eyebrows at her tiny outburst and smiled shyly.

“I-“

“Nicole!”

Nicole snapped her head up at Doc in annoyance.

“Give me a minute!” 

Hearing her tone, Doc put his hands up in surrender. Nicole growled softly under her breath and shook her head before giving her attention back to Waverly. But just before she could get an answer, the giggle squad was beginning to crowd around them and their quiet little bubble was popped.

“You can think about it. If not, it’s no big deal. I’ll see you later.” Nicole slumped her way up the bleachers, her hands shoved in her pockets caused her shoulders to hunch up close to her ears. She could hear her name being whispered amongst the other girls as they badgered poor Waverly with questions. 

Sitting down next to her friends, Nicole barely paid attention to their conversation as she watched Waverly try to keep up with all the conversations around her and thought about her missed opportunity.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After school, Nicole was kind of bummed as she walked to her car, Doc and Rosita following behind. She hadn’t seen Waverly the rest of the day so she never did get her answer about that ride home. When she got to her car, she tossed her books into the backseat and leaned in to get the car to warm up before turning back to talk to her friends about whatever they’d been talking about. Honestly she had no idea what. 

As the parking lot started to thin out, Nicole’s brow furrowed at an unusual sight. Champ was standing next to the Earp car, talking to Willa. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but from the way he was acting, it looked like Champ was doing the pretty boy act again. As more and more cars left, Nicole could faintly make out their conversation but she’d already missed too much to really know what was going on. She saw them both turn and Nicole followed their stare and found Waverly and Wynonna walking their way, Waverly looking just as confused as Nicole.

Before Champ could open his mouth though, Wynonna was laying a quick kiss to the top of her younger sister’s head and jogging over towards Doc’s truck.

“Wynonna!” Willa yelled, but Wynonna was too busy tossing her books in the cab of Doc’s truck and taking his offered hand to help her up into the seat. 

“Tell daddy I’ll be home later!” Wynonna yelled out the window as Doc backed the truck up and flew out of the parking lot in a cloud of dust.

Rosita chuckled at the look on the eldest Earp’s face before telling Nicole goodbye and getting in her own car. 

Nicole couldn’t help but clench her hand on the roof of her car as she watched Waverly approach the other two, seeing the apprehension on Waverly’s face left an uneasy feeling in Nicole’s chest.

“Waverly, Champ has asked my permission to drive you home. I told him that was fine. He’s actually a gentleman compared to what Wynonna just drove off with.” Willa sneered, her eyes lingering on the spot Doc just vacated.

“Oh! Ummmm-“ Waverly gripped her books tighter to her chest and seemed to take a step back as Champ interrupted her.

“You said you had to get permission from your sister and I got it!” Champ grinned, looking real proud of himself.

Feeling her anger bubble up, Nicole wrenched her door open, the hinges giving a loud squeal in protest at being handled so roughly, and was about to get in when Waverly’s answer stopped her.

“Sorry, Champ but I have other plans. With Nicole.”

Looking back at the brunette, Nicole thought her heart was gonna beat out of her chest as Waverly jogged over towards her. When she stopped right in front of her, Waverly looked up with pleading eyes.

“Does your offer still stands from earlier?”

Nicole grinned as she stepped back into the door to allow Waverly room to climb in the open driver side door.

“Waverly Earp, you get back here this minute! I only gave you permission to ride with Champ! Not her!” Willa yelled over the top of her own car, Champ standing next to her seething.

Whipping around, Waverly stared her older sister down.

“It’s not your decision to make! It’s my life and I get to decide what to do with it!” 

Hearing her own words of advise from earlier, Nicole grinned down at the shorter girl as she offered to take her books from her. Waverly handed them over and with a quick run of her hand down Nicole’s arm, she climbed into the car, sliding over to the other side. Tossing the books next to her own, Nicole gave Champ and Willa a final grin before climbing in behind her and pulling the car out of the lot, her own cloud of dust billowing behind.

“I’m so going to pay for that later.” Waverly muttered, looking out the back window as her sister watched on furiously. 

“Did it at least feel good?” Nicole asked, her eyes going from the road in front of her to the girl next to her.

“So good.”

Nicole grinned as she switched gears and followed the roads towards Waverly’s house.

“Would you mind if……” Waverly started but went quiet.

“What?”

“It’s just…….I’m not really ready to go home yet and I was wondering if……..if you’re not busy……if you would want to do something?” Waverly played with her hands nervously as she managed to get everything out.

“I’d love to.” Nicole watched the relief flow through Waverly at her answer and how she looked so much more relaxed. “I have an idea.”

Turning off the main drag, Nicole drove them away from Homestead Avenue.

XXXXXXXXXXX

With not many places to go in Purgatory, Nicole took them to the best place she could think of where there would be the least amount of distractions for them to talk.

Pulling the car into the woods as close as she could, Nicole stopped and turned off the engine. Waverly looked at her nervously as she took in her surroundings and Nicole’s eyes grew wide at what this must look like.

“We’re not…..I mean…..I wouldn’t…..” Nicole rambled as she tried to reassure the younger girl but her stutter just got worse.

“It’s okay, Nicole. I know you wouldn’t.” Waverly put a calming hand on her arm, telling her she understood. “But why are we in the woods?”

Nicole got control of herself and opened her door to step out, offering her hand to Waverly as she slid across the seat and took the offered hand, helping her out.

“I want to show you the place I like to go to when I want to be alone.”

Without letting go of her hand, not that she was pulling away, Nicole led them down a little narrow path to a massive oak tree. Seeing the confusion as to why they stopped on Waverly’s face, Nicole used her free hand to point up and Waverly followed her direction. Up in the massive tree was an even bigger tree house. Seeing the smile break out on Waverly’s face, Nicole shook their linked hands.

“Wanna go up?

Nodding excitedly, Nicole led her around the tree to the trusty ladder on the other side. Nicole went up first, helping Waverly up onto the makeshift porch before making their way around the tree to the little door. Kneeling down, Nicole reached into her shirt and pulled out an old pair of dog-tags around her neck and found a small key. Inserting the key into the heavy duty gate lock, it came open with no effort and Nicole opened the door.

“Ladies first.” Nicole gestured as she stepped back, allowing Waverly to duck in first before following.

Nicole closed the door behind her as she watched Waverly take in everything. From the old car license plates and posters hanging on the walls, to the makeshift rug and cardboard box that served as a table, the deck of cards still scattered on it from the last poker game she and Doc had played not too long ago. There was even a beat up old six-string in the corner that Nicole had bought at a garage sale on her street some years ago. Grabbing a pack of matches off a shelf, Nicole kneeled up and lit the kerosene lantern that hung from the ceiling. The denseness of the woods keeping the sunlight away and making the room a little darker.

“You built this?”

Nicole turned back to Waverly as she blew out the match and smiled.

“Yeah. Doc and I a few years ago. We spent an entire summer working on it. We just wanted a place of our own.” Offering Waverly a pillow to sit on, Nicole leaned back against the way, her legs stretched out in front of her. “Of course, we were a lot smaller back then too. But we still come here from time to time. It’s a good place to escape, you know.”

“It’s wonderful.” Waverly said, taking in every detail.

“Thanks.”

“Can you play?” Waverly asked, pointing towards the guitar.

“I can, but I’m no Chuck Berry yet.” Nicole slipped off her jacket, the lamp providing the small room with some heat that it wasn’t necessary anymore. 

“I’d like to hear it someday.”

Nicole looked down bashfully before nodding.

“Someday.”

They both smiled shyly at one another for a minute before Nicole cleared her throat, breaking the tension.

“Until then though,” She leaned over to the table and scooped up the playing cards. “How’d you like to go up against the greatest poker player in the world?” 

“I’ve never played before.” Waverly admitted.

“Well, we are just gonna have to rectify that now, aren’t we?” Nicole did a fancy shuffle and smiled at the excited smirk on Waverly’s face.

XXXXXXXXXX

Nicole’s eyes squinted down at the hand she was holding, the cigarette between her lips puffed in time with Lavern Baker’s “Jim Dandy” playing on the homemade transistor radio, as she contemplated her next move. Looking down at the pile of Coke bottle caps, cherry flavored Pez, and random bits and pieces they had used in place of money, Nicole knew this next move was crucial.

After a brief tutorial of the game, Waverly had managed to pick it up surprisingly easy. They had played a few hands, each winning here and there and then Nicole was surprised when Waverly offered to raise the stakes. What surprised her even more, was that Waverly was dominating her. If it had been anyone else, Nicole would’ve been pissed. But not with Waverly. If anything, she was proud of the younger girl. Not just anybody was able to take down “Haught Hands” as Doc liked to call her when they played. He had never beaten her, but he got joy out of watching her beat others and taking their money.

Looking over at her opponent, Nicole smirked at the cute little way Waverly was looking at her own cards, the stick from her lollipop sticking out between her lips (a prize from her last winning hand), her sweater long ago taken off and draped over Nicole’s leather jacket, the top two buttons of her blouse undone and her sleeves rolled up to the elbow, mimicking Nicole’s own look. 

“Your move, Earp.” Nicole mumbled out, the corner of her mouth quirking up.

Waverly matched her stare and laid down her cards.

Deuces.

Nicole laughed in amusement as she tossed her useless cards on top of the pile, shaking her head as Waverly squealed and scooped up her winnings.

“I think I’ve created a monster.” Nicole took a final drag off her cigarette and stubbed it out in the tin can that acted as an ashtray.

“I think you have. I can see why this game is so addicting.” Taking a look at the clock on the wall, Waverly sighed. “I should probably be getting home. Dinner will be done soon.”

“Yeah, same here.” Nicole slumped slightly at having to leave.

Pulling on their coats and putting out the lantern, Nicole locked the door behind them and made her way down the ladder first, helping Waverly on the last couple rungs. They made their way up the trail to Nicole’s car, the moon overhead helping to light the path. Nicole went to move towards the passenger side door but Waverly tugged her to the driver side, giving her a small smile. Nicole unlocked the door and held it open for the smaller girl and waited until she was fully across the seat before sliding in herself.  
As the car warmed up, Nicole reached for the pack of gum on her dashboard, first offering Waverly a piece who took one and thanked her, then took one for herself. Throwing the pack back on the dashboard, Nicole threw the car in reverse and pulled out onto the road to take them home.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sitting outside Waverly’s house, the girls sat quietly as they listened to Johnny Mathis’ “Chances Are” and both avoiding the topic of leaving. Nicole had let Waverly control the radio, and she stopped on this song. Even though Nicole wasn’t a fan of cheesy love songs, she couldn’t help but think she’d be buying this record very soon. Waverly was turned towards her, her knees tucked up under her as she and Nicole laughed every time Willa peaked out of the curtains at them. 

“I should probably head in before she eventually comes through the window.” Waverly said, smiling at her as Nicole gave her sad puppy eyes.

Nodding, Nicole stepped out of the car, offered her hand one final time, and helped Waverly stand. She didn’t say anything as Waverly looked up at her, almost like she was asking her to say something but she didn’t know what. Or at least what she thought it might be, but she was thinking it was her own wishful thinking.

“See you tomorrow, Nicole. Thanks for tonight.” Waverly leaned up and gave her another brief kiss on the cheek just like Friday night and made her way slowly up the path. 

Nicole grumbled at herself for being a coward before turning to get back in the car and saw Waverly’s school books sitting in the back seat. Diving in she quickly grabbed them and ran up behind the brunette just as she reached the porch.

“You forgot these.” 

Waverly smiled gratefully at her and took them with a small thank you before turning back to the front door.

Nicole felt like her chest was gonna burst with what she wanted to ask and her chance was disappearing rapidly. She had to know and it was either now or never.

“Wouldyouwannagooutonadatewithmesometime?” Nicole rushed out in one breath.

Waverly stopped and looked at her confused.

“I’m sorry?”

Nicole closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Would you wanna go on a date with me sometime?” She replied slower.

Opening her eyes, Nicole watched a smile bloom on Waverly’s face as the smaller girl walked back towards her, their height temporarily matched as Nicole was standing one step down.

“Yes.” 

Nicole felt all the air whoosh out of her lungs.

“Really?”

Nodding, Waverly reached out and played with the dog-tags hanging from Nicole’s neck.

“I was kinda hoping you’d ask me.”

Nicole grinned and wanted to lean in and kiss the girl so badly but the porch light shooting on broke their moment.

“And that would be Willa again.” Waverly muttered under her breath, releasing Nicole’s necklace.

“Friday night?” Nicole asked.

“Perfect.”

Leaning in for one more quick peck to her cheek, Waverly whispered goodnight and went inside, leaving Nicole grinning like a fool on her front porch.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Nicole pulled up in front of the Earp home and stepped out of the car to lean against the door. She had gotten up earlier than usual to make sure she’d get here in time before they left. Hearing the front door open, Nicole watched as Wynonna and Waverly stepped out first, followed by Willa and all three turned to look at her. Pushing away from the car, Nicole walked up the path and met them at the bottom step.

“Good morning ladies. I was hoping I could give Waverly a ride to school this morning? Only if she’d like to, of course?”

Beaming down at the redhead, Waverly descended the stairs quickly and took her offered hand before following Nicole back to her car.

“Excuse me-” Willa started but was interrupted.

“Don’t be such an ankle-biter, Willa. Waverly is perfectly old enough to make her own decisions.” Wynonna shot back. “We’ll see you later, Waves. And you, Red?”

Both Waverly and Nicole paused. 

“You be a perfect gentleman to her, you hear me? Or you have me to deal with.”

Nicole nodded and held the driver side door open, Waverly’s new favorite way of getting in and out of her car. Laughing at the way Willa stomped to the car, Nicole climbed in and shifted out of park as they pulled away from the curb, The Cricket’s “That’ll Be The Day” playing loud over the radio. The whole way to school, Waverly played with the silver ring around Nicole’s finger as she held her hand in her lap.

When they pulled into the lot, Nicole was bummed to see Champ hadn’t arrived yet so he wouldn’t get his morning dirt shower. But that feeling quickly disappeared at the feeling of Waverly’s hand still playing with her own. 

As Nicole stepped out of the car, Doc and Rosita were both shocked when Waverly stepped out behind her. Nicole holding on to both their books as she gave her friends a bright smile.

“Morning guys! You know Waverly. This is Doc and Rosita.” Nicole introduced them. 

Rosita started up a conversation with Waverly and Nicole noticed that Waverly actually looked interested in the conversation, not like when the giggle squad bombarded her with questions. Nicole and Doc listened in, sharing a cigarette between them, Rosita reaching out and taking a couple puffs then offering it to Waverly who politely declined, before the warning bell went off. The other Earp sisters had arrived a few minutes before and they watched Willa stomp off towards the building and Wynonna throw a quick wink their way before following behind. Nicole offered to walk Waverly to her locker and Waverly beamed at her, taking her hand and the four of them walked towards the building.

No one noticed the way Champ’s eyes followed them from his truck, his hands gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who subscribed/bookmarked/commented/left kudos! I greatly appreciate it! I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts or ideas on what they'd like to see here.  
> Thank you again and until next time!
> 
> Also, you can find me on twitter under @Sweet82405 and I welcome all comments and messages there too!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! I managed to fit in one more update before the end of the year! Go me! And thank you to everyone who subscribed/bookmarked/commented on this story. I appreciate every single one of them. 
> 
> I own nothing Wynonna Earp related.

Chapter 3

The days leading up to Nicole’s date with Waverly couldn’t have gone any slower. Every day seemed to drag out longer than the day before and it was really beginning to grate on her nerves. The two of them had managed to see each other here and there, but only for a few minutes at a time. Waverly was constantly being pulled away by her sister or the giggle squad or Nicole’s friends would have terrible timing and barge into their conversations. The thought of Friday coming up was the only thing keeping Nicole sane at this point.

  
Thursday afternoon had Nicole nervously bouncing her knee as she sat in her history class, doodling on a piece of notebook paper, her mind nowhere near anything to do with class. She hadn’t solidified her plans for tomorrow night and she had a small list going in front of her. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been thinking of things to do, its just there aren’t that many things to actually do in Purgatory.

  
She didn’t want to go to Shorty’s again, especially on a Friday night when all of Purgatory High would be there watching them or constantly interrupting them. There was absolutely no way they were going to the football game that night. Nicole racked her brain for days on what to do and she was running out of time.

  
The sound of the bell signaling the end of class made Nicole jump and gather up her things to leave. Walking through the halls, Nicole kept her eyes open for a certain brunette and when she spotted her at her locker, her smile instantly dropped at seeing Champ moseying up to her. Nicole could see the way Waverly’s shoulders tensed up at his arrival and so she marched towards them in a hurry.

  
“You still owe me for last Friday, you know. How about we meet up after the game tomorrow night?” Champ asked, leaning against the lockers, almost boxing Waverly in so she couldn’t move away.

  
“I-I’m sorry Champ, but I already have plans tomorrow night.” Waverly stuttered, uncomfortable with how close Champ was to her.

  
“With who?” Champ asked, anger tinged at the end of his question.

  
“With me. Not that it’s any of _your_ business.” Nicole remarked coming up behind Waverly, her hand resting low on her back in reassurance.

  
Champ stood up straight and glared at Nicole.

  
“Oh really? And does Waverly’s family know she’s hanging out with greaser scum? They don’t seem like the kind of family that would approve of that kind of thing.” Champ sneered.

  
Nicole stepped in front of Waverly, blocking her from any harm that might come their way.

  
“And if they don’t know? You gonna run off and tattle on us, jockstrap?” Nicole watched as Champ’s shoulders bunched up and his fists clenched in anger. “Go ahead. I dare you. Your ass will be on the sidelines watching the game tomorrow if you throw one punch.”

  
Champ was practically seething as a couple of his buddies came over and talked their captain down from fighting, knowing he’d be risking their game if he did. They threw nasty looks at Nicole as they led Champ down the hall away from them, Nicole watching them until they rounded a corner out of sight. Turning around, she found everyone watching them intently and Waverly looking extremely uncomfortable under their stares.

  
“You all got a problem?” Nicole yelled out to the crowd. That quick they were all running to class.

  
Still feeling the anger pumping through her veins, Nicole looked down at the smaller girl and felt all that anger dissipate at the smirk on Waverly’s face.

  
“You okay?” Nicole asks, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets nervously.

  
“I am, thanks to you.” Waverly closes her locker and leans against it. “But I told you no getting into fights.”

“And I told you no promises.” Nicole smirked. “Besides, we didn’t even fight, just knocked him down a peg or two. He’ll survive.”

  
“Well good. Let’s try and keep it that way.” Waverly reached out and tugged playfully on the zipper of Nicole’s jacket.

  
“Again, no promises.” Nicole warned, earning an eye roll from the brunette. “In the meantime, can I walk you to your next class before you’re late?”

  
Waverly beamed and nodded as she let Nicole lead her in the direction of her English class, Nicole’s hand resting comfortably on her left shoulder.

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
Friday night had finally come and Nicole was shaking like a leaf as she stared at her reflection in the mirror in her room. She had tried on almost every shirt she owned and each one had let her down. She had never had this issue before with any of her other dates and it was driving her crazy. She wanted to look good for Waverly, and perhaps make a decent impression with her family when she went to go pick Waverly up at her house.

  
In the end, she had decided on a white button down shirt tucked into her favorite pair of black jeans and her converses. To top it off, she borrowed one of her dad’s black ties, leaving it loose around her neck and her trusty leather jacket. Running a comb through her still wet hair, Nicole deemed herself ready, grabbed her wallet and keys and left to pick up her date.

  
The whole way to Waverly’s house, Nicole kept running over what she’d say when or if she met her parents. They had agreed on Nicole picking Waverly up at her house but didn’t really address what to do if her parents were there. All Nicole knew was if it came to that, she’d be on her best behavior regardless. That’s what Waverly deserved.

  
When she pulled up out front of Waverly’s house, Nicole took a minute to gather her nerves and take a deep breath.

  
“I can do this.” Nicole repeated over and over to herself as she climbed out of the car and walked up the path to the steps to the front door. Adjusting her clothes one more time, Nicole rang the doorbell and had a last minute thought.

  
“Shit, was I supposed to get flowers?!” She whispered under her breath just as the door opened and an older brunette woman answered the door.

  
“Hi there! You must be Nicole!”

  
“Y-yes ma’am. Nicole Haught. It’s nice to meet you.” Nicole stuttered as she stepped back to allow the screen door to open.

  
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you too. Please come in! Waverly should be down in a minute.” Mrs. Earp led Nicole into the living room where Wynonna was lounging on the couch reading a magazine.

  
“Wynonna don’t be rude and say hello to Nicole.” The older woman scolded her daughter.

  
“Hey Red, heard you’re taking Waves on a date! Good for you!” Wynonna said enthusiastically, satisfying her mother.

  
“Please sit and make yourself at home. Would you like anything to drink?” Mrs. Earp offered, not waiting for a response as she left for the kitchen to grab something for them.

  
“Oh no…..that’s…..okayy….” Nicole tried to tell her but she was already gone, the sound of cabinets opening and glasses being pulled out telling her she was getting something to drink.

  
“Too late. She’s already in house guest mode.” Wynonna informed her, dropping the magazine on the coffee table. “So where you guys going tonight? Waverly wouldn’t tell me.”

  
“To dinner. I made reservations.” Nicole said, playing with the knot of her tie nervously.

  
“That’s cool.” Wynonna peaked around the corner to make sure her mom and sister weren’t around before turning back to Nicole. “Just a heads up, you hurt my sister or try anything she’s not ready for, and I will find you and beat you within an inch of your life. You understand?”

Nicole’s eyes widened and she nodded quickly.

  
“Good. I know you wouldn’t do that but I just had to put it out there. Waverly told me what you did for her when Champ cornered her again. I expect you to be respectful to her.”

  
“I promise. I’d never hurt her.” Nicole replied truthfully.

  
Wynonna seemed pleased with her answer and bumped their shoulders together.

  
“You look nice, by the way.”

  
“Thank you.” Nicole smirked bashfully.

  
Mrs. Earp came back in carrying a tray of home-made lemonade for the three of them, taking a seat in the armchair across from the other two.

  
“So Nicole, Waverly says you’re a junior as well.”

  
“Yes ma’am.” Nicole replied, taking a sip of her drink to help her drying throat.

  
“We were so proud to hear she was skipping a grade when we moved here. I must say I was worried about her fitting in, everyone being older than her and whatnot. But she seems to be fitting in just fine.”

  
“She is. Your daughter is a natural at making friends.” Nicole informed them, thinking about how quickly the giggle squad honed in on her.

  
“That’s nice to hear. I’m sorry my husband isn’t here to meet you. He had to stay late at work tonight. But definitely next time.”

  
Nicole’s heart picked up at the thought of next time. Possibly another date if this one goes good.

  
Hearing descending footsteps on the stairs, Nicole stood up and deflated when she saw instead of Waverly, it was Willa.

  
“What are you doing here?” The older girl asked, a note of disgust in her tone.

  
“Willa, that’s no way to greet our guest!” Mrs. Earp reprimanded her oldest child. “She’s here to pick up Waverly for their date.”

  
“Date? Since when is Waverly allowed to date greasers?!” Willa gave them all a powerful glare, lingering on Nicole more, before turning and storming back up the stairs she just came down. The sound of a door slamming making everyone flinch.

  
“I’m so sorry about that Nicole. Willa isn’t adjusting very well to the move and has been lashing out unnecessarily. Please don’t take anything she says to heart.” Mrs. Earp stood, grazing her hand on Nicole’s shoulder in apology, before starting up after her daughter to give her a firm talking to.

  
She was just about to sit back down when light footsteps started making their way down the stairs again and this time the person had Nicole utterly speechless.

  
Waverly had her hair down in wavy curls, a deep blue long-sleeved blouse tucked into a tight, knee length white skirt with matching blue heels. Nicole watched her descend the last few steps, frozen in place as she tried to take in everything that was Waverly Earp at this moment.

  
“Hi.” Waverly smiled at her, the heels making her just an inch or so shorter than Nicole.

  
The room was silent and getting awkward as Nicole had yet to say anything she realized.

  
“Wow…”

  
Waverly smiled at the dazed look on Nicole’s face.

  
“You look amazing.” Nicole couldn’t tear her eyes away from the vision in front of her. It took Wynonna bumping into her from behind for her to shake out of her staring fit.

  
“You do, Waves. You’re a lucky one, Red.” Wynonna gave her youngest sister a smile as she moved towards the stairs. “I’ll grab mom so she can say bye. Don’t go anywhere yet.”

  
The girls watched her leave before turning back to each other.

  
“Sorry I took so long getting ready. Willa wouldn’t get out of the bathroom long enough for me to take a shower so I lost track of time. I didn’t mean to leave you alone with my family.” Waverly said, grabbing her thick blue peacoat from the coat rack by the door.

  
“It was fine. Your mom is really nice. And Wynonna…..is Wynonna.” Nicole took the coat from her and held it out to help. Waverly smiled and turned to put her arms in as Nicole pulled it over her shoulders. “Willa on the other hand….”

  
Waverly spun around so fast it made Nicole jump.

  
“What did she do?”

  
Nicole shrugged.

  
“Nothing horrible. Just gave off her usual warmth towards me when she heard we were going on a date.”

  
“I’m so sorry Nicole. I didn’t-”

  
“Hey.” Nicole stepped closer to the younger girl. “It’s fine. Nothing I haven’t heard before. Besides, I think she’s just jealous at how amazing you look.” Nicole grinned.

  
Waverly blushed and reached out to tug at Nicole’s tie.

  
“So do you. Really.”

  
Mrs. Earp and Wynonna both came back downstairs to see the girls off, the eldest telling Nicole to come around again and for them to have a good time. Nicole led Waverly to her car and went to open the passenger side door but was stopped by a hand on her chest and a head shake. Opening the driver side door, Waverly scooted across and waved to her sister and mom on the porch before Nicole followed her in and pulled away from the curb.

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
Nicole was aware of all the eyes on the two of them as they were led to their table. She had made reservations at the nicest restaurant in town and it just happened to be at the Wainright Hotel. It was one of the oldest hotels in town and one of the more popular places for the adults of Purgatory. The hostess escorted them to a table near the middle of the room and Nicole could see Waverly was nervous too. The hostess took their coats for them and told them the waiter would be right out. Nicole glanced around the place and took in the fancy candles and live band playing softly in the corner. She remembers being there with her parents when she was little and being mad they didn’t have crayons. She’s brought out of her memories by a waiter handing them a menu and running off the list of specials, all of which Nicole had never heard of before. When he stepped away to give them time to decide, Nicole looked over her menu at Waverly and saw she was just as confused by the menu.

  
“Seeing anything you like?” Nicole asked, hoping for some kind of idea as to what to get. She didn’t remember the menu being this fancy.

  
“Ummm…..well……” The little spot between Waverly’s eyes crinkled as she read over the menu again and Nicole started chuckling, gaining her attention.

  
“I got nothing. You?” Nicole asked.

  
Waverly giggled and shook her head.

  
“I don’t even know what half this stuff is!”

  
Breathing in relief, Nicole stood up and offered her hand.

  
“Let’s get outta here and go someplace a little more us.”

  
“Shorty’s?”

  
“You got it.” Taking Waverly’s hand, Nicole led them to the coat check in, grabbed their stuff and hightailed it out of there just as the waiter was bringing out their waters.

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
Nicole was rolling down her window as the car hop was running over with their food. They decided to eat in the car once they saw how packed it was in the diner and didn’t want to risk being seen by the giggle squad or Nicole’s friends. Waverly was more than happy to eat in the warmth of the car, the radio quietly playing in the background, and no chance of them being disturbed. Pulling the tray inside, Nicole sat it in between them and rolled the window back up to help contain the warm air inside.

  
“Much better.” Nicole said, implying the non-stressful atmosphere compared to the restaurant from earlier. “Sorry about that, by the way. Just thought you’d prefer a place like that.”

  
“That’s sweet, but this is more my style. No pressure, no staring, no weirdly named food.” They both chuckled at that. “Just this.”

  
“Good to know.” Nicole snuck a fry from Waverly’s basket and was almost to her mouth when a hand caught her wrist.

  
“You have your own, thief!” Waverly accused jokingly.

  
“Yours taste better!” Nicole laughed as the brunette tried to pry the now smashed french fry from her fingers.

  
“They do not!” As they wrestled over the one fry, Waverly didn’t notice Nicole sneaking another off her with the other hand until it was too late.

  
“You punk!” Nicole chewed with a smirk as Waverly lightly punched her in the shoulder. When she went to swipe another one, Waverly reached out and caught Nicole by her tie and tugged her closer, the fry between them forgotten instantly when they realized how close they were at the moment.

  
Nicole trailed her eyes over the small freckles that crossed over Waverly’s nose, her long eyelashes, the adorable cupid’s bow of her upper lip, and the way she gently chewed on her lower lip. Everything about the girl drew Nicole in and she couldn’t look away. Not that she wanted to either.

  
Waverly seemed to be in the same kind of trance as her eyes roamed all over Nicole’s face. Her fingers were gently twirling the end of Nicole’s tie, tugging her closer without realizing it. Nicole could feel the soft, warm puffs of air wash over her face and it caused goosebumps to break out all over her body. Being this close to Waverly was only a dream and now here she was. And it was better than any dream.

  
As she inched a little bit closer, their noses caressing together as Waverly ran her free hand over the curve of the redhead‘s jaw, Nicole held back to let Waverly make the last move.

  
“Nicole….” Waverly sighed as she moved in the last inch…..

  
The sound of blaring horns pulling into the parking lot had both girls jerking back and turning to look out the windshield at the interruption.

  
Champ and the other football hooligans were whooping and hollering over tonight’s win and the sight of them pissed Nicole off. She and Waverly had been so close to kissing that she could still feel the smaller girl’s gentle touch on her face. But seeing the annoyed look on Waverly’s face at being interrupted too sparked the hope in Nicole’s chest.

  
With the moment ruined, the two of them went back to eating and making fun of the football team, mostly Champ, as they watched the moron float from table to table so people could sing his praise at being a mediocre athlete.

  
When the waitress came back for their garbage, Nicole paid the bill and saw it was starting to get late. Waverly’s mom hadn’t given them a curfew but she didn’t want to end up on their bad side after the first date by keeping their youngest daughter out at all hours of the night. Seeing Shorty’s emptying out as well, Nicole smirked as she started the car and told Waverly to hang on tight as she gunned the car out of the spot and made a wide turn just as Champ and the other boys stepped out the door and sprayed them with a cloud of dust, leaving them grumbling and filthy as Nicole’s friends laughed at seeing the familiar car driving away.

  
Nicole laughed as she saw Champ throwing a tantrum in the rearview mirror and smiled even harder when she caught Waverly giggling too at the sight.

  
“Serves him right.” Nicole claimed keeping her eyes on the road. She jumped though when she felt a soft hand glide over hers on the steering wheel and pry it off, only to be held in the lap of one Waverly Earp. The whole way home, the two of them laughed and joked around as Waverly played with the ring on Nicole’s finger.

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
The Monday after their first date found Nicole waiting patiently outside the Earp residence to take Waverly to school. They hadn’t been able to see each other over the weekend as Waverly’s parent’s wanted to spent time with their daughters and Nicole had promised to help Doc at his dad’s garage. With winter approaching fast, people were lining up to get chains on their tires before the first snowfall of the year.

  
Nicole had checked her reflection in every mirror of her car before deeming herself ready and walked up to the front door. After knocking, she could hear a sweet voice call out from inside that she would get it and Nicole was awarded the sight of Waverly standing on the other side beaming at her.

  
“Care for a ride?” Nicole offered.

  
Calling out a quick goodbye to her family, Waverly grabbed her bag and books from the small entrance table and stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door firmly shut behind her. They both stood smiling at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move and when Nicole offered her hand, Waverly took it and let the redhead lead her down the steps. Before they could reach the last step however, the front door opened behind them and a voice was stopping them.

  
“You have room for one more, Red?” Wynonna asked, more like stated as she followed behind them carrying her own books. “Willa’s on my last nerve and I’m not in the mood to be stuck inside a moving vehicle with her.” Before Nicole could say anything, the older girl was making her way over to the passenger side of the car and climbing in. “Waves, you can sit in the middle or the back if you prefer.”

  
Both Nicole and Waverly watched as Wynonna fiddled with the radio, completely oblivious to the other girls watching her, one in confusion and the other in anger.

  
“Wynonna, you can’t just invite yourself into someone’s car without asking!” Waverly argued, pulling Nicole behind her.

  
“Nicole doesn’t mind. Do you, Red?” Wynonna raised an eyebrow at her through the window, silently asking her to argue with her.

  
“No, it’s cool.” Nicole spoke up, not wanting to cause anymore damage between the sisters.

  
“See Waves. It’s cool. Now get in before we’re late.” Wynonna grinned triumphantly as she settled back in her seat.

Turning to face Nicole, Waverly gave her an adorable pout.

  
“I’m sorry about her. She seems to have either left her manners back in Calgary or she was raised in a barn. You pick.”

  
Nicole barked out a laugh and tugged the smaller girl closer.

  
“It’s fine, really. Now we have an excuse for you to sit closer to me. Unless you’d prefer the backseat like she said?” Nicole smirked.

  
“Not a chance.” Waverly answered as Nicole opened the driver side door and Waverly scooted over to the middle seat, her glare not as intense as before but still lingering on her older sister, as Nicole followed her in.

  
The drive to school was pretty uneventfully, mostly Wynonna talking or asking questions about the town and whatnot. Waverly remained unusually quiet the whole time, the only thing letting Nicole know she was paying attention was the way Waverly would run her fingertips all along the surface of her palm and the way the brunette’s lips would curl slightly at the tremor that shook through Nicole’s body at the sensation.

  
When she pulled into her usual spot, Nicole had barely turned the car off before Wynonna was out and latching onto Doc, who was sitting on the bed of his truck smoking a cigarette. Nicole reached for the door handle to let them out but a tug on her other hand stopped her and drew her attention to Waverly.

  
“Hi.” Waverly murmured quietly

  
“Hi.” Nicole chuckled back just as quiet.

  
“I didn’t get a chance to say that before. Also,” Waverly leaned forward and brushed a warm kiss on the older girl’s cheek. “Thanks for the ride. And tolerating my sister.”

  
Nicole so badly wanted to chase after those lips but knew it wasn’t the right time for that. So instead, she brought the hand that was holding hers up to her mouth and pressed a lingering kiss to Waverly’s knuckles.

  
“Anytime.”

  
Seeing the glassy dazed look in Waverly’s eyes had Nicole feeling like a million dollars as she reached over the seat for her own books and tugged the two of them out of the car to join her friends.

  
Saying hi to Doc and Rosita, Nicole took the offered cigarette from Doc and allowed the sweet tasting tobacco to fill her mouth before tilting her head back and releasing a plume of smoke into the sky, away from Waverly. Feeling the cigarette leave her fingers, Nicole wasn’t surprised to see Wynonna taking her own drag from it and the way the smoke curled out between her lips.

  
“God, that’s beautiful.” Doc stated as he watched her with a love sick look on his face.

  
Nicole shook her head at him and looked at the smaller girl next to her. Waverly was watching her with a curious glint in her eyes that had Nicole begging to know what she was thinking. Hearing the warning bell, the five of them gathered their things and made their way through the lot just as Willa was pulling in, her icy glare fixed on both her sisters as she stormed out of the car and up the front steps of the building.

  
“Has she ever attempted a smile?” Nicole whispered into Waverly’s ear, their hands clasped between them as they crossed the street.

  
“If she has, I’ve never seen it.” Waverly whispered back, making them both chuckle.

  
Reaching the other side of the street, the group bumped into Perry and the rest of the gang and exchanged hellos and playful arm punches. Nicole was about to introduce the Earp sisters to everyone when the sound of a familiar car backfiring had her pausing and tensing up.

  
A car the same model as Nicole’s, painted blood red with menacing looking skulls all over it, cruised by slowly and had Nicole and the gang glaring. Arm swinging languidly out the passenger side window was none other than Bobo Del Rey, his greased back hair and cigarette hanging from his mouth as he sneered at the group on the sidewalk before gesturing to his driver to keep going until they turned the corner and were out of sight. No longer seeing him, Nicole finally unclenched her muscles and everyone else followed, the danger gone for now.

  
“Who was that?” Wynonna asked.

  
“That lovely character was Bobo Del Rey. The leader of the Revenant Gang. The man is a snake in human form. We’ve met on some not so happy occasions, mostly ending in fistfights and the police showing up.” Doc explained, chewing the end of his cigarette bitterly.

  
“He likes to cruise around the parking lot here and Shorty’s eyeballing the underclassmen. He never made it passed the tenth grade himself.” Perry offered his two-cents in as they all started heading inside.

  
“Nicole?”

  
Nicole hadn’t said a word since seeing Bobo and her eyes were still trained on the last spot she saw Del Rey before his car turned. But hearing that sweet voice call her name had her snapping back.

  
“Sorry. Let’s get you to class before I’m responsible for your first truancy report.” Sensing something not quite right, Waverly watched as Nicole turned and led them both into the building, figuring she’d ask her about it later when they were alone.

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
It took nearly everything in Nicole not to sprint to the library for her secret lunch with Waverly. They had passed each other in the hallway after third period and at the last second Waverly reached out her hand and passed Nicole a hidden note asking her if she’d like to meet her for lunch. She never got the chance to respond back but there was no way Nicole was saying no to that.

  
Opening the door to the unfamiliar room, Nicole noticed quite a few students either reading and doing homework at the multiple tables or some walking up and down the rows of shelves looking at all the available titles. Scanning her eyes over the tables first, Nicole didn’t see Waverly so she quietly moved along the ends of the rows of books searching her out. When she got to a row focusing on history, Nicole smiled at seeing Waverly balancing on her toes trying to reach a book on the top shelf just out of reach. Walking quietly up behind her, Nicole placed a hand on the smaller girl’s hip for balance as she reached above the both of them and grabbed the spine of the book with no problem.

  
Waverly had tensed up at first but instantly relaxed at the “ _allow me_ ” whispered in her ear and the sight of a silver ring catching her eye.

  
Pulling the book down, Nicole handed it over and got a grateful smile in return.

  
“How chivalrous. I should keep you around for when I’m studying and can’t reach the books I need.” Waverly joked as she led them over to a table in the back where the rest of her stuff was.

  
“Like that monster?” Nicole asked, pointing at the book cradled on Waverly’s arm.

  
“Oh, this book is just for my own enjoyment. It’s not required for class.” Waverly admitted embarrassed.

  
“What’s it about?” Nicole asked genuinely curious, turning her chair around so she could straddle it and rest her arms along the top.

  
“It’s the history of Purgatory and how it was founded. There’s so much history in this town and I want to know it all.” Waverly sat down and quietly snuck a small, wrapped sandwich out of her bag.

  
“Breaking the rules, Miss Earp? That doesn’t sound like you.” Nicole smirked, nodding towards the “ _ **no food or drink permitted**_ ” signs posted all along the room.

  
“Well, it’s the only place I could hide from Chrissy and Stephanie when they want to show me more cheers. And I don’t think Champ even knows this room exists. So if I want to eat and read in peace, some rules need to be bent.” Waverly defended then offered Nicole the other half of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

  
“I guess I could let it go, considering you decided to share your secret hideout with me.” Nicole accepted the sandwich and took a bite.

  
“It’s only fair, seeing as how you showed me yours.” Waverly took her own bite and gave Nicole a cheek bunching grin.

  
They finished their shared sandwich and Waverly tucked the remaining evidence into her bag, not wanting the librarian to know their little secret.

  
“So in your note,” Nicole whispered as her fingers tapped at her breast pocket to make sure the small square was still there without Waverly seeing. “You said you wanted to talk about something.”

  
Nodding, Waverly looked around as she scooted the chair closer to Nicole so they wouldn’t be overheard.

  
“Are you okay from earlier?” Nicole gave her a confused look. “When that Bobo guy drove by, you got really quiet.”

  
Nicole clenched her hand in a fist at his name but calmed down at the look of worry Waverly was giving her.

  
“Sorry. We just have some bad blood between his gang and ours. I promise you, I’ve never been involved in anything illegal and I never would. Same with Doc and Rosita. But there have been times where some people got hurt by the Revenant Gang and vice versa. It’s a whole turf thing and they’re always crossing that line.” Nicole hunched her shoulders, the tension slowly creeping up her spine.

  
“Hey.” Waverly ran her hand back and forth soothingly over Nicole’s forearm. “Has he ever hurt you before?”

  
“We all got into a fight about a year ago. They’d been causing some trouble outside Shorty’s and we went out to confront them. No major damage though. The cops had already been on their way before we stepped out. Managed to get in a few lucky punches, took some myself before they scattered like the cockroaches they are.” Nicole remembered how worried her parents had been when she returned home that night with a black eye and busted lip.

  
Feeling fingers brushing her hair behind her ear, Nicole looked up and found Waverly looking at a small scar on her cheekbone, her thumb grazing it gently.

  
“He’d been wearing a ring that night and caught me off guard. Left a lasting mark.” Nicole shivered as Waverly’s thumb continued to gently rub against it, almost like she was hoping to brush it away.

  
“I hope it never has to come down to another fight again. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  
“Like I said about Champ,” Nicole smirked. “No promises.”

  
The smirk fell off her face when Waverly leaned forward and brushed her lips over the small scar, lingering there a few seconds before pulling back, her cheeks tinged red and matching her hair.

  
“Try for me. Please?” Waverly pleaded quietly.

  
“I’ll definitely try. For you.” Nicole whispered back, her words holding truth.

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
The following weeks leading up to the holidays had been pretty uneventful. Waverly had been busy studying for her mid-terms and had even offered to stay after school to help underclassmen by tutoring. Everyday, Nicole would pick her up and drive them to school then come back afterwards to drive her home. Waverly had insisted her sister could come get her but Nicole wouldn’t hear. She knew Willa’s mood hadn’t gotten any better and she wasn’t going to subject Waverly to that. Besides, they barely got to see each other outside school now with Waverly tutoring and Nicole helping at the garage. She yearned for those few minutes where it was just them and no one else.

  
It was the last day of school for the year and Nicole was excited because Waverly was done with her tutoring and she had the night off thanks to Doc, so she decided to surprise Waverly with an impromptu date. She parked outside the school, the car warming up behind her as she blew into her cold hands as she leaned against the door waiting for the brunette to come out. She had slipped a note into Waverly’s locker earlier today asking if she’d like to go out after school and when they had managed to pass each other before their last class, Waverly mouthed a “ _yes_ ” and smiled at her. Nicole loved when she smiled like that.

  
Hearing the doors open and the enthusiastic cheer as everyone left for Christmas break, Nicole kept her eyes peeled for the smaller girl in the crowd. Finally spotting her coming out with Wynonna, Nicole pushed away from the car so she could meet them at the bottom of the steps, Waverly’s eyes finding hers immediately.

  
“Hey.” Nicole greeted them, her hands reaching out for the stack of books under Waverly’s arm and the other for the girl’s hand.

  
“Hi.” Waverly smiled as she leaned in to kiss Nicole’s cheek in thank you and offering her hand.

  
Even though they had been technically “dating” for the past few weeks, the furthest they had gone intimate wise was the occasional kiss on the cheek or hand. And Nicole didn’t mind that at all. She didn’t want to force anything on Waverly and to be honest, she loved her sweet little cheek kisses.

  
“Hey Red.” Wynonna greeted, smiling when she saw Doc waving at her from across the lot. “Just so you know, I gave up a date tonight with Doc so you and my sister could go out. I’m going to hold that over your head.”

  
“Wynonna…” Waverly warned her sister.

  
“It’s cool.” Nicole chuckled. “I told Doc to let me know when he wanted to switch shifts to make up for it.”

  
“Good to know.” Wynonna smirked. “Have fun you two.” They watched as she jogged over to Doc and laid a smacking kiss on his lips before jumping in the truck.

  
Feeling the smaller girl shiver next to her, Nicole curled her arm around Waverly’s shoulders and escorted her to the warm car, both of them climbing in quickly to get out of the blistering cold.

  
“So where are we going?” Waverly asked, tossing her bag into the backseat where it usually ended up.

  
“It’s a surprise.” Nicole checked her mirrors before pulling out onto the road.

  
“Are we going to try the hotel restaurant again?” Waverly joked.

  
“Ha ha.” Nicole reached out for her hand and tugged her closer so she was sitting in the middle of the seat. Waverly was always cold so Nicole tried to stay close by to offer whatever body heat she could. Waverly scooched in close, wrapping her arms around Nicole’s right arm as their hands intertwined on Waverly’s lap. As the days got colder and colder, gone were the skirts and short-sleeve blouses Waverly loved to wear, and instead she opted for denim jeans and sweaters with her warmest snow boots. Nicole thought she looked absolutely adorable, the cuffs of her jeans rolled up as her pants were too long, the cute wool hat she’d wear that her mother had knitted for her. Even now, Nicole stopped at the stop sign at an intersection and turned her head to lay a gentle kiss on the girl’s forehead, the hat soft against her cheek, just because Waverly was too cute not to.

  
When she swung the car into a not so busy parking lot, Waverly gave her a curious look but Nicole just smiled back and slowed the car to a crawl. As they rounded the nearest building, Waverly finally saw what they’d be doing and shook her head at the excited look on Nicole’s face.

  
“Is this okay?” Nicole asked somewhat shyly. “We can do something else if you want.”

  
“It’s more than okay. Hearing you talk about this for weeks and how excited you’ve been? I’d gladly do this with you.” Waverly poked her finger at the exposed dimple in Nicole’s cheek as the taller girl grinned hard and drove them up to the window.

  
“Two for Jailhouse Rock, please?”

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
The drive-in theater was slowly filling up with other cars but not enough to call it packed. Most teens preferred the indoor theater this time of the year but Nicole liked this better because there was no sitting next to annoying people or having to listen to people talk during the movie. They had shown up a little early and were told the movie would begin in about an hour, giving the sun enough time to go down. With winter came shorter days so they didn’t have to wait too long. As they waited, Nicole had offered to look at the book Waverly was currently addicted to, the biography on her great-great grandfather Wyatt Earp. Nicole could sit for hours and let Waverly read to her about anything and everything, especially things that made Waverly happy. So as they waited for other cars to pull in, Nicole reclined back in her seat with Waverly tucked in her side and let the younger girl corral her with tales of the old wild west.

  
By the time the movie projector was flickering on and showing the usual ads and commercials, the sun had long since settled for the night and people were jogging over to the indoor snack stand for hot chocolate and popcorn. Nicole had offered to venture out in the cold to get them some food and told Waverly to save their spot in the book for later. Pulling on her gloves and tapping her back pocket for her wallet, Nicole shuffled over to the food stand and got them the biggest bucket of popcorn they had to offer and two bottles of coke.

  
When she came book with everything, Waverly was opening the door from the inside so the redhead wouldn’t have to juggle everything and helped her get situated. They laughed at the dancing hot dog and condiments on the large screen as they took turns trying to toss pieces of popcorn in their mouths, more ending up on the seat and floor than in their mouths but Nicole didn’t care. She’d cover the car in mud if it meant getting to hear that beautiful laugh everyday. As the movie finally came on, the two of them settled down and immersed themselves in the movie starring Nicole’s role model Elvis Presley.

XXXXXXXXXX

  
Halfway through the movie, Nicole had looked away to see if Waverly was enjoying it as the two main characters kissed for the first time and instead found bright hazel eyes looking up at her.

  
“What?” Nicole asked curiously.

  
“Nothing.” Waverly smirked.

  
“No, what?” Nicole encouraged turning towards her. “You can tell me.”

  
“It’s just….”Waverly looked down at their entwined hands. “I can’t figure it out.”

  
“Figure what out?”

  
“Why you like me.” Waverly looked back up at her. “There’s hundreds of other girls more interesting than plain ol' me and yet here we are. I can’t figure out why.”

  
Nicole turned her whole body to face the smaller girl, the movie all but forgotten now.

  
“First of all, there is nothing plain about you. You’re beautiful, caring, extremely sweet, and so so smart. Anyone would be lucky to be able to just _stand_ next to you.” Waverly looked back down at her hands as her cheeks turned red, but Nicole used her free hand to gently lift her chin up to lock eyes with her again. “I find you so incredibly fascinating. The way you put your everything into your schoolwork because you want to succeed in life. The way you find old history texts entertaining. The way you always smell like lavender and mint. The way you always ask for extra cherries in your coke. It’s me who can’t figure out why you like me. Not the other way around.” Nicole used both hands to cup the younger girl’s face. “You are extraordinary, Waverly Earp.”

  
Waverly stared at Nicole with glassy eyes, tears just on the rim but not falling yet before leaning forward and pressing her lips gently against Nicole’s.

  
Neither one of them moved for several seconds, each just taking in the feel of the others soft lips. As they slowly pulled back an inch, Nicole took in a shuttering breath as she felt her heart pound roughly behind her ribs.

  
“I like everything about you too.” Waverly whispered, afraid if she spoke any louder it would pop this bubble the two of them had created. “The way you let me read my boring history books to you. The way you always smell like vanilla-dipped donuts and Lucky Strikes. The way your adorable dimples pop out whenever you smile really hard at me.” They both smiled as those very dimples appeared on Nicole’s blushing cheeks. “The first time I saw you, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Everyone was pulling me in every which direction and then you’d show up and make it all stop.” It was Nicole’s turn to duck her head in embarrassment, but Waverly leaned down to catch her eyes. “You are just as extraordinary, Nicole Haught. Don’t ever doubt that.”

  
This time, it was Nicole who braved it and leaned in to connect their lips once again. Waverly’s fingers ran back through her short red locks to tug her closer as Nicole gripped the back of their seat to keep her hands from wandering. Using her free hand, she gently brushed the hat back off the brunette’s head so she could feel her soft hair run through her fingers as they deepened the kiss.

  
Nicole felt like she was drowning. Her lungs were begging for air and her head felt light but she couldn’t pull herself away if she tried. She had dreamed of this moment for too long and she wasn’t about to ruin it for something as menial as oxygen.

  
Waverly pulled back for a split second to let them both take in a ragged breath before swooping back down and latching onto Nicole’s lower lip, her hand gripping the opened collar of the older girl’s jacket to pull her in deeper.

  
Neither one knew how much time had passed. As they separated for what felt like the hundredth time, Nicole caught the movie credits rolling up the screen and cars slowly pulling out of the lot.

  
“Wow. I guess we’ll never know how that ended.” Nicole joked as Waverly became aware of their surroundings too.

  
“I’m so sorry! You’d been looking forward to this movie for so long for us to completely ignore it!” Waverly looked frantic as she saw the projector flicker and the goodbye ads came on.

  
“Who cares?” Nicole said, drawing Waverly’s attention again. “Besides, I wouldn’t change this night for anything. Especially for some movie.”

  
Waverly blushed and leaned in to peck Nicole’s lips once more before they had to leave.

  
“I guess this means we’ll just have to come back and see it again. My treat.” Waverly whispered against Nicole’s lips, the headlights from the exiting cars illuminating the smirk on her face.

  
“How’s tomorrow sound?” Nicole asks grinning.

  
“Perfect.” Waverly answered quickly before dragging Nicole into another deep kiss.

  
Nicole knew they had to leave soon as the place would be closing up, but she was perfectly okay waiting until the very last car left. They weren’t in any hurry.

  
XXXXXXXXXX

  
When Nicole pulled the car up the Earp house, she couldn’t help but pout at the fact that the night was coming to a close. The whole ride home, Waverly had stayed tucked up against her and laying the cutest little mouse kisses to her cheek and shoulder. She’s give anything to be able to stay in this moment for a little bit longer.

  
The two of them walked slowly up the pathway to the front steps, each trying to drag out the inevitable, before stopping on the front porch. Nicole remained on the second to last step so she and Waverly were basically the same height for once. Neither girl was ready to say goodnight as Waverly clutched the lapels of Nicole’s jacket and leaned their heads together.

  
“Thank you for tonight.” Waverly whispered, her breath warm on Nicole’s chilled lips.

  
“Thank _you_.” Nicole leaned back a bit in order to kiss the tip of Waverly’s red nose.

  
As they slowly pulled apart, Nicole had a brazen thought and decided to go for it before it was too late.

  
“Hey Waves?”

  
“Yeah?” Waverly giggled, not moving away.

  
“I know most of those square fellas have this code where they ask a girl out and present them with a pin. I don’t really have one of those to give you but I was just wondering if…..” Nicole fiddled with her hand for a second. “If you’d wear my ring?” Nicole held up the simple silver ring she always wore and that Waverly seemed to always seek out when they’d hold hands. “If you don’t want to it’s cool! I don’t want you to think I have a claim or something on you! I just thought-” A pair of lips connecting with hers stopped any further rambling from Nicole as she took in the addicting flavor that was Waverly.

  
“I’d love to wear your ring, Nicole.” Waverly said as she took the offered ring and tried it on her ring finger. It was a tad too big so she switched it to her pointer finger and it slid on perfectly. Nicole looked down at it and grinned hard.

  
“Cool.”

  
Waverly laughed at her response.

  
“Cool.” They both chuckled at themselves before the porch light flicked on, signaling the end of their night. “I guess this is goodnight.”

  
“I guess so. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Nicole asked hopefully.

  
“Until tomorrow.” Waverly cupped her face once more and applied the gentlest of kisses on Nicole’s lips. “Goodnight Nicole.”

  
“Goodnight Waverly.” Nicole waited until Waverly was safely inside the house before walking back to her car. She turned around to try and catch one more glimpse of her girl but all she saw was a dark porch.

  
When she climbed into her car, something caught the corner of her eye and she looked back up at the house. This time she found the brunette in an upstairs window watching her with a beautiful smile on her face. Throwing her a smile back, Nicole was rewarded with a kiss being blown her way. It took everything in her to pull away from that curb but the thought of seeing Waverly Earp tomorrow kept her from turning back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of only doing 6 chapters total for this story. Don't want to drag it out. But until then, I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's and I'll see you in 2018! 
> 
> P.S.- S3 starts filming like next week!!!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is still interested in seeing this progress, let me know! It's only gonna be a few chapters, but long chapters. Thanks!- Sweet


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